Autumn Storms
by Gwaeren
Summary: Ficlet nearly completely devoid of plot, a fluffy family fic of the Outers' random moments between battles and non-senshi obligations. An autumn storm turns into something fun and magical, and reminds the Outers what's important. F/F relationship, non-stereotypical family.


Author's Note: The usual, of course. I own nothing, to begin with, save for the words in the order you see them in this fic. Even the prompt isn't mine - it was a writing prompt from tumblr from a few months ago: things to be thankful for.

It was hard writing this - there's a reason I've been away from for so long, and this fic forced me to look for things... the little things... we can all be thankful for from time to time, even when things look bad. I've a few fics I'm going to try and upload here in the next few weeks, though. And if I've made any grammar or spelling mistakes, please let me know!

Also, as usual, this is pure fluff, with nearly NOTHING present to constitute plot. 100% Grade A Sap and Cuteness. Rating to be safe as F/F relationship is present, and there's light cursing.

* * *

It had started like any other autumn storm. Rain, a tiny rumble or two of thunder (but nothing that would set off Michiru's odd fear), and some high winds. The few trees they had nearby their house could be heard creaking amid the roar of each gust through their branches.

Yes, it had started just like any other storm in the middle of November. Setsuna had meandered into the kitchen to start up a pot of tea, while Hotaru was finishing a project for school. Haruka had a gaming system on, a determined look on her face as she navigated a virtual car along the racetrack. And Michiru sat a few feet away from her, ignoring the storm by sketching the adorable faces her lover made while so focused.

Until it happened. The lights flickered. Hotaru gave a small yelp of surprise from her room, Setsuna groaned, Michiru's head lifted upward from her paper and Haruka's eyes went wide. "No, no, don't do it, don't-"

Pfffft. Along with the lights, all of the sounds within the house faded into silence. The TV was dark, the halls shadowed, clocks and computers off. "Damnit." The blond muttered. "I was about to break my old record." But there was nothing to be done about it - the game was lost, yanked away along with all of their electricity.

Setsuna abandoned the kitchen for a moment, peeking into the living room. "The kettle only got the water lukewarm before the power went out," she lamented of their electric water heater, drawing a slight pout to her aqua-haired friend's lips. "Is everyone okay?"

Both light gold and aquamarine heads dipped in the affirmative, while Hotaru headed away from her room to join the other three. "Define 'okay'. At least my project saved. But I'm going to have to find all of that info again..."

Setsuna ruffled the girl's dark hair affectionately, then gestured to the kitchen. "Hm. Well, I can heat up the water on the stove instead. And since we've lost power and have a few sore spots to soothe, if you help by finding it, why don't we trade tea for hot chocolate?"

Michiru giggled as not only Hotaru perked, but Haruka's eyes lit as well. "I think that's a yes, Setsuna-mama," she commented with a bright grin, echoed on the time-gate-guardian's lips.

Setsuna and Hotaru disappeared back into the kitchen, while Haruka abandoned her place on the couch, dropping herself fully into her girlfriend's lap. "Hold me, Michiru. I lost my game..."

"Ooof, Haruka, you weigh more than you look!" But she did cuddle the taller girl up, fingers gently petting through her short, light hair.

"So do you," Haruka protested, nuzzling into both Michiru's shoulder and her fingers. "It's called 'muscle weighs more, and we both have it'," the explanation came, slightly defensive but too content with the artist's caressing to care much.

"Mm, I suppose that's true," said girl conceded, a kiss warming her girlfriend's temple.

Haruka nodded and grinned down at the girl she was snuggled into before catching those lips with her own, savoring the feel and taste of Michiru for a few long seconds. "Of course it is," she hummed after, letting her head fall to rest on her girlfriend's shoulder once more.

Fingers still in her hair, Michiru's warmth beneath her and lips occasionally brushing her forehead, Haruka was nearly asleep when Hotaru scampered back in, far more excited than she'd been moments ago. "It's SNOWING!" she announced before bolting to the sliding glass door to their backyard to watch properly.

Which had the blond dork formerly in Michiru's embrace bouncing up and scampering to join her Hime-chan at the window. "It IS!" she confirmed the event with a laugh. "It's a little early for snow, isn't it?"

Both Setsuna and Michiru shrugged. "I don't remember it snowing in November any time recently," the musician replied, to which Setsuna only nodded in agreement.

"Let's go catch snowflakes on our tongues!" Hotaru insisted playfully, with the enthusiasm of a girl far younger than she was. Twelve, but having missed a good portion of her growing up, none of the adults could blame her for wanting such fun. And it did sound fun.

Moments later, the flame on the stove was turned off (having been ignited by a match, like they always did during blackouts), and all four senshi spilled outside, marveling at the winter wonderland in the making. It was _cold_. And the ground was already freezing up after the rain, ice crystals forming in puddles, and glittering on the grass. Snow was dusting some surfaces that had cooled down enough, melting on others until they could freeze over too.

And for a few long minutes, giggles were heard amid upturned heads, tongues stuck out to catch the falling frozen bits until they grew bored of it and remembered the idea of hot cocoa. Shivering for having forgotten to put on coats before tramping outdoors for snowflake catching, they piled back inside, kicking off their outdoor shoes just past the door and collecting back to where they'd been prior to the announcement - just a little colder than they'd been before.

Which meant Haruka instantly snuggled in with Michiru on the couch, while Hotaru warmed her hands up carefully over the re-lit flame on their stove while the water was once more set out to boil. The excitement of the first snow of the season had faded into cozy laziness. The promise of winter that fall brought with it clung to them, both exciting and a little worrying. Still, as blankets and cocoa were eventually brought out, and they all sat snuggled on the couch?

All four young women could agree. Being loved and warm on a fall afternoon - even a snowy one - made it very difficult not to be thankful.


End file.
